Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. Eleanor Roosevelt

Happy New Year, and welcome to 2023! What will this year be like we might be asking? It will be like every other year good for some; happy for some, there will be ups and downs, heartbreak and disappointment, breakthroughs and discoveries. But, we want to know what it will be like for us. We will meet some goals and miss some goals, we will plant in the spring and if we tend what we plant we will reap in the fall. Spring will follow winter, and fall will follow summer and we’ll be back to winter again.

But, what will happen in the world? There will be wars, and rumors of wars, life will be easy for some and hard for some, some will be born and some will die. If we just had our last best year would we really want to know that? If we knew for sure something we enjoyed was truly behind us and we would never experience it again would we want to know that? Is it better to not know so we can dream, plan, and set goals even if we never reach them?

Isn’t it nice to think this could be the year… the year a breach is healed, the year our health or the health of someone we love gets better? The year milestones are reached, the year we make memories that will warm our hearts forever. A year of family closeness, a year of personal growth, and a year of choosing what is important to us.

Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. Steve Jobs

A beautiful new year spreads before us and it will be what it will be, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a lot of input into how it unfolds for us, but we aren’t in control of everything we need to ride the waves of life. There will always be some lemons so keep the lemon squeezer handy, but also be ready to celebrate the big and little moments coming.

Now is an excellent time to think about what we want more of in our lives, what changes should we make, and what adventures should we bring into our lives. Do we wish we were on a beach at the start of this New Year or some other exotic locale? How could we make that happen for the next New Year?

Do we wish we could say we’ve read some great books? How could we make it so we can say that this time next year? A few pages a day will get us through any book in a year? Is this the year we want to master something, face a fear, or pursue a dream? Is this the year we need to stick to what we started and continue keeping on? Is this the year we have to face the hardest thing we will ever have to face and be strong for those also facing it?

This is our year what do we need to do to make the most of it?

When all the dust is settled and all the crowds are gone, the things that matter are faith, family, and friends. Barbara Bush

The ideal man bears the accidents of life with dignity and grace, making the best of circumstances. Aristotle

Make the most of yourself for that is all there is of you. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thank you for reading this post. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you will come back and read some more. Have a blessed day filled with gratitude, joy, and love.